


Privately Owned Spiral Galaxy

by free_cookiesx



Series: tma au! [1]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Statement Fic (The Magnus Archives), that's it that's the concept, tma-style horror, tws in notes!! please don't skip them, wilbur is a stranger avatar!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25371202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/free_cookiesx/pseuds/free_cookiesx
Summary: Statement #0191104-Statement of Jack Massey Welsh, regarding a being that reached out to him trying to take the place of his colleague, Kai Ross-Best.The majesty of fantasy propels me from tragedyVail to my unrealityAn elaborately designed, privately owned spiral galaxy-Privately Owned Spiral Galaxy by… Crywank?
Relationships: none!! shippers stay away :))
Series: tma au! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918069
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	Privately Owned Spiral Galaxy

**Author's Note:**

> remember kids, the magnus archives is horror!! this one deals with the stranger, so be wary
> 
> if you're unfamiliar, the stranger is a fear entity that deals with people not being quite human and objects pretending to be human. if people not being who they say they are and paranoia around the topic may trigger you, please don't keep reading!!
> 
> notes on boundaries at the bottom <3

**ARCHIVIST**

Statement of Jack Massey Welsh, regarding a being that reached out to him trying to take the place of his colleague. The original statement was given on April 11th, 2019. Audio recording by the Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, based in London.

Statement begins.

**ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)**

My first encounter with Wilbur was an e-mail that he sent to me, funnily enough. I don't remember the date- it wasn't included with the e-mail for some reason, and I can't retrace my steps. If I try my head gets fuzzy and I- yeah. Wilbur's proposition was to have him edit a video for me. I'm an entertainer on the internet, I make videos and get money. It was a hobby, but it eventually turned into my job through increased popularity. I was doing great, but then Wilbur showed up. He asked if he could edit some videos for me and though I was wary I reluctantly agreed. I wasn't even looking for an editor, I just needed a video idea. Most of my interactions with him can be seen on-camera, but I'll recount them here from my perspective. Obviously. It's me who's writing this.

Sorry, this is incoherent. I'll restart.

Last year, a man known as Wilbur Soot sent me an e-mail detailing his wishes to replace my friend and long-term video editor, Kai Ross-Best. He listed a few reasons why he should be considered and consistently one-upped Kai throughout the email. He signed the email off with "glowing regards," and I was left in a state of semi-shock. I had no idea who this man was, and although he was pleasant enough, he was still a bit curt and I wasn't sure whether or not to take him up on his offer. I've mentioned previously about how I was in need of video ideas at the time, and I supposed I could let him edit a short, ten-minute video and be done with it. The image he attached was very polite, after all. He also explicitly stated that he would do it for free. 

I sent him two video files and told him to do whatever he wanted, pretty much. While recording an intro, outro, and reaction to the edited video, I noticed something a bit odd. The video was all well and fine- up until around the midway point. I glitched out of the screen, and a video recorded by Wilbur appeared.

Wilbur recorded himself in a "decrepit old house in the middle of nowhere," as he put it. He mentioned how he'd fallen on tough times -everyone goes through those, I can't blame him- but he said that he hoped I wouldn't see the video. Naturally, this piqued my interest. I paid closer attention to what he was saying and the information started to become worrying. After an aside about how he was suffering from hypothermia, he started to play a song that he had written for me. Before he could get past the first cord, though, there was a knocking that caused him to run away. I was in stunned silence, while the video that I had sent him to edit continued on happily. 

After I was done recording a reaction for the camera, I let myself sit back a bit and think about what events I had just been a witness to. His editing was excellent, however unsettling the video in the middle was. I was worried for him after that, along with much of my audience, but soon after he reached out again with an offer to edit another video. He repeated the cycle of putting down Kai and glorifying himself, again being forceful. In spite of my better judgement, I decided to accept his offer. Both my subscribers and his seemed to like the content and, well- he was offering to work for free. How could I turn him down?

I recorded a video detailing my reaction to his e-mail and his videos on his personal channel. After I did so I sent the video off to be edited- the whole thing this time, not a mini-video that I would react to. Again, Wilbur put slightly worrying video interludes in the middle showing him in a field and then behind a house, most likely running away from something. He also repeatedly censored Kai's name and put an external link at the end of the video. This video was... both easier and harder to form an opinion on. I wasn't filming any reaction so I didn't have to edit my thoughts down to be PG-13, but I was growing increasingly worried for this random man who I'd never had contact with. I threw the video online and decided to follow the link typed in the video.

The link directed me to a video of him reading "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. Not one of my favourite poems, but I'm somewhat familiar. The video was titled "Clues," and I didn't know what it could mean. It was around this time that there was a general consensus amongst my audience that Wilbur had set up an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) for them to solve. I'd heard about ARGs in the past, but I never really dug too deep into them. Some people were well-versed in them, though, and gave their information to people who were newer to them. That same day (20/12/18), people found their way to an audio file that gave them more clues to the next big thing and, well- given the fact that he was using _my_ videos as a means to an end, I made sure to keep updated on the events.

I dug a bit deeper into him independently and found nothing out of the ordinary. He's an entertainer like me. He had -has- three channels: a main channel, separate music channel, and a more popular channel that he runs with his friends- the "SootHouse." I'm not one to judge odd names, but it _is_ a bit out of the ordinary.

For this next part I need you to understand that although I may not have the best mental health, I've never had anything close to schizophrenia or paranoia. I don't hear or see illusions, I don't think anyone is out to get me. I know what kinds of mental issues I have and what their symptoms are. That being said, since the video of him reading “The Raven” was discovered, I’ve been feeling odd. For lack of a better term. I’ve been seeing things- people who aren’t really there, who are shifting from second to second, who seem nice one second and then are the meanest people the next. I have a feeling that something isn’t _right_. It’s lessened now that the whole experience is over but… I still feel like there’s something horribly _wrong_.

The next video in the series was me going over all the information that the internet had figured out. I'm going to gloss over it a little, it's all on the internet and I don't want to take up any more of your time. Basically, he needed to move North in order to look for shelter while using other's internet and calling people he knew. I let him edit the entire video. As with all of his other work, he's talented, if concerning. There was text hidden about the video for others to find- things like "not quite, jack," and "that note was me. it's important."

Surprising no one, he gave himself another video cut-in. It was at the end this time and within it he was acting... strange. 

Wilbur was standing in front of a tapestry of the famous wave painting (you know the one) inside an echo-wrought building. His camera was jumping around on his face and with the jumps his personality seemed to switch. He switched from confident to haughty to sad to friendly and back at the drop of a hat. The moment when he put on his glasses it was very noticeable. Before, he was distraught, but when he put on his glasses it was all smiles and threats. He was demanding that I fire Kai and make sure he never comes back. Nothing new but the time limit of the end of the month (January of 2019) was terrifying. 

During the next few weeks I alternated editing videos with Kai. Again, nothing was out of the ordinary, but whenever a video Kai edited went up the sense of "wrong" grew ever larger. I started seeing more people who weren't who they appeared to be, and for a second I even thought my girlfriend was one of them. I messaged Kai with my symptoms (he was the other main person involved, after all) and he said he had been feeling something similar. Along with feeling wrong, he had been feeling cold when he was editing videos for me and after he finished it would linger for days. We made plans to keep each other updated on whatever new symptoms we had and moved on to nicer subjects. 

I kept up with the ARG. I never actively contributed much, keeping my involvement to the "Editor Wilbur" videos, but it was concerning. The next follow up video I recorded I gave him the job. I went over the information that had been revealed in that time, including a parody video he made of my Reddit review videos. There almost wasn't a video that Wilbur recorded. However, the last six seconds of "Wilbur Edited this video..." was a video of him meeting Kai. 

Obviously I was very concerned for Kai. He DMed me and said that he was alive and well. The meeting with Wilbur had gone decently and he had come out of it with all his faculties attached. That didn't shake the overwhelming anxiety I now felt for him. I had no idea if he was _actually_ safe, or if it was Wilbur overtaking his account. Kai sent me a link to a video that was linked within mine (somehow I had managed to miss that while reviewing the video) and it led to a video of Wilbur. 

He was standing on a pier looking over a cityscape, talking about how he had won, how he was a king, running about in a park and although the audio was distorted the point he was trying to get across was clear. There was morse code and an image link and... yeah. Again, it's all online. There was another video a couple days afterwards talking about how cold he was and I decided to film a short review of what was going on at that point in time. I went through what I had learned from people on Discord and showing the videos, keeping my own anxieties under wraps. I ended the video after his "cold" one, and after it went up I slowly but surely started to feel that way myself.

With shaking hands I messaged Kai. I could barely feel my fingertips and the cold was shooting up my arms rapidly. I told him about the cold and how I was feeling -I'm sure it must have been riddled with typos but I didn't particularly care at the time- and he didn't send back anything comforting. He waited until about three minutes after I had stopped typing before he came online, and the cold had made its way into almost the entire rest of my body. Everything was so entirely wrong, I couldn't even go to Becky about it. When I saw Kai typing I was so afraid- what would he say? Was it really Kai? Or was it some sort of Stranger? It felt like an eternity before he messaged me back and all he sent was a text emoticon. Colon, closed parentheses. Then the conversation deleted itself.

I spent the next days afraid. I didn't trust anyone or anything, and I kept to myself. I felt like not even _I_ was myself. It was so wrong, so cold, so, so cold. I was in a state of constant anxiety, and nothing was softening the blow of the panic I was going through. Then I got a DM from Kai on Twitter. 

_"Jack? Why did you block me on Discord?"_

I was confused. Obviously. I didn't know what had happened on his end, but from what he told me he seemed to be alright. He was worried about me when I told him what happened to me, and I decided right then and there that Wilbur was _not_ going to edit any more videos for me. I would try to keep my interactions with him to a minimum, but I knew even then I was dealing with something supernatural and out of my hands. 

Again, I made a video recounting everything that happened the next week. I gave the video to Kai to edit and thankfully, there were no secret or hidden messages- it really _was_ Kai. The e-mail I responded to in my video (I did *NOT* let Wilbur edit this video) promised a final instalment from Wilbur, so I supposed there was nothing much to do except wait and see what Wilbur had in store for me. While waiting, I kept in close touch with Kai. Just in case. I also responded to Becky's texts she had sent while I was on a semi-lockdown. I had my support system and was ready to receive his video.

The final video he sent me was much like the one he edited into one of mine a while back. It even had a wave tapestry in the back- although it was bigger and Wilbur seemed to be in a much safer place. It started with his face, while phone messages from his friends played onscreen. Images and videos he had taken during his journey (including most videos I've talked about above) were also onscreen. Then the video that he recorded for me played.

It starts off with Wilbur saying that the him that is recording the video will dead- the "Editor Wilbur" persona that he'd put on. He would still be making content, but nothing relating to this particular "ARG." I put that in quotation marks because I'm sure that this was not an ARG but something unsettlingly supernatural. Continuing on in the video, he says that he's tired of being cold and that he's learnt a lot. He accepts that he cannot get everything he wants and insinuates that I've betrayed him, somehow, by not firing Kai. At this point in the video, there's a cut. He was wearing glasses before, but after the cut he was not. I noticed that the complacent attitude that he'd had while wearing glasses was gone, and that without the glasses he seemed much more aggressive. He continues to switch personalities somewhat frequently, the most notable (and visible) one being when he puts his glasses back on. 

At this point in the video he starts singing praises about how much I've taught him and have helped him and so many people- but then he has the audacity to say that he's taught me something as well. He put me through multiple months of Hell just to say- what, that he's taught me how to be a YouTuber? And then say that he's going to _miss me_? He says how he doesn't want to leave, and how he doesn't care if the "story" is found out, but I'm glad to be rid of this... "Editor Wilbur."

He disappears after he starts to talk about how the whole thing started. The screen goes dark and there's a voicemail that Kai appears to have left for him. Kai... didn't seem like himself. He threatened Wilbur and implied that he did so in the past as well. I don't know what to think of that part. It may have been during the time I didn't talk to anyone, but it seems very out of the ordinary for him. He's not malicious, but the voice message projects an image of him I'd rather not see.

Kai still works as an editor for me, and he gives me amazing videos to post. He's reported no more feeling cold, but I can't help but feel chills whenever I put a video of his online. I still see chameleon faces in the street. I still get uneasy feelings. It's unsettling, but I can deal with it. For further evidence, I've also included a USB with all of the files and videos I've talked about, please keep it with or nearby this statement. I know that this all probably means nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I hope you can find this useful. I'd hate for my experiences -if they were real- to not help anyone.

As of today. I uploaded another video with Wilbur. He had supposedly shed his "Editor Wilbur" skin as he had promised, and we played Minecraft together. He was notably more friendly with me and spoke highly of Kai, but the feeling of "wrong" was prominent and it only went away after I put the video up. I'll keep up with him, but sparingly. I'll come back if anything more happens, I'm sure that this isn't over yet. 

Glowing regards, Jack.

**ARCHIVIST**

Statement ends.

The USB mentioned at the end of the statement seems to have been lost or at least moved to Artefact Storage. I don't care enough to find it; Artefact Storage gives me hives. A quick google search proved useful, though, and I found all the information that Jack had posted online. Nothing about the internal struggle though. Unsurprising. 

The Stranger is clearly at work here, I'm not sure what other Entity could have the exact set of skills mentioned in this statement. Reviewing the final video that was sent, I've found that this "Wilbur" character does exhibit disturbing behaviour regarding his personality. Some of it seems a bit forced but not as much as regular people. He seems to switch flawlessly from persona to persona, and the sense of mystery surrounding him is almost palpable. That's the Stranger's whole thing, though, is not being known, so I can't necessarily blame it. 

Wilbur continues to operate under the illusion of full transparency to this day, making videos with his friends. I have my suspicions about them being Avatars as well, but I can leave the investigation to another day or have an assistant do it. I've got to pick Tommy up from school, I can't leave him alone for too long.

This is Head Archivist Phil, signing off.

**Author's Note:**

> regarding boundaries: i looked and i couldn't find much of anything regarding jack or kai's boundaries? i know wilbur is alright with creepy things being written about him and jack and kai took part in the arg so i think i'm okay in that regard, but if someone finds information that shows that i crossed any lines, please send it to me and i will edit/take this down accordingly. thank you!


End file.
